The 100th anniversary of the Kruger National Park (KNP) in 2026 has been recognised as a golden opportunity for Mpumalanga – working hand in hand with SANParks – to drive impactful destination marketing campaigns throughout the year.
This was one of numerous topics raised during the first meetings of the Mpumalanga Tourism Think Tank – a revived public-private sector body designed to explore solutions to the province’s tourism barriers. Comprising representatives of tourism businesses, SATSA, the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA), business chambers and government officials, the Think Tank met on November 11 and 12 for the first time since its disbanding in 2021.
Topics on the table included the bolstering of air access, tourist transport operator licence backlogs, vehicle congestion at popular KNP access gates, gathering of tourism statistics and improving infrastructure at MTPA-managed attractions.
SATSA Chairperson and Graskop Gorge Lift Co-Founder Oupa Pilane touted the KNP’s centenary celebration as a prime destination marketing opportunity.
“Not many people know that the KNP is celebrating this massive milestone so we’re looking at a number of opportunities to have this spoken about on the national and international stage. We can start marketing campaigns with this internationally renowned attraction and use it as a basis for promoting other areas outside the park,” said Pilane.
Linda Grimbeek, MTPA Board member and CEO of the Kruger Lowveld Chamber of Business and Tourism, said the province’s marketing strategy requires detailed segmentation into domestic, regional and overseas visitors. She emphasised the need for more detailed monthly statistics on visitor numbers and demographics to guide marketing campaigns.
Task teams to explore programme development
The Think Tank saw the formation of public-private sector task teams who will propose ideas for presentation at the next meeting on December 2. Pilane said the aim is to have suggested projects included and budgeted for in the annual performance plan of the MTPA.
“We, as the tourism and business sector, have to ensure that the programmes we agree on are in the annual performance plans otherwise the Think Tank will just be a talk shop. Part of this will be about looking at models that can assist us to commercialise tourist sites because we need new products and new investments,” said Pilane.
One of South Africa’s tourist hubs, Mpumalanga accounted for 20% of the country’s just under nine million tourist arrivals in 2024, the province’s airports need inclusion in national air access initiatives.
“As much as there has been improvement with regard to flights coming into Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (KMIA), we need more regional flights and a similar air access drive to what Cape Town, Gauteng and Durban are doing. Currently, we are out of the national discussions taking place on route development despite our status as one of the most important centres of tourism in the country.”
Upgrades to busy KNP access points such as the Paul Kruger and Phabeni gates are additionally up for discussion.
“Congestion has been identified as an issue but it’s good to see that there are ongoing discussions by the KNP to expand and upgrade these gates. We hope that those discussions will involve thorough consultation with the tour operators using those gates.”
Road improvements but challenges remain
The concerning state of infrastructure at MTPA-managed sites, together with road conditions on key provincial tourist routes, are also under the microscope.
The transfer of road infrastructure projects from provincial government to the South African National Road Agency Limited (SANRAL) earlier this year has already yielded results. Pilane pointed out that the 50km stretch of the R540 road between the towns of Lydenburg and Dullstroom has been “immeasurably” improved.
“The upgraded road is poised to welcome a 20-30% increase in traffic during peak seasons such as December while cutting travel times and stimulating more local economic activity,” said Pilane.
SANRAL is due to visit Mpumalanga this week to provide further updates on progress made in enhancing other key routes, which include the N4 between Mbombela and Maputo, the R538 between White River and Hazyview, the R533 between Graskop and Bushbuckridge and the Plaston Road leading to KMIA.
“However, we are still bedevilled with the condition of some provincial roads such as the one linking Hazyview to Sabie. Operators are excluding Sabie from tour operator packages and that is killing that small town,” Pilane stressed.
